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Rebel Recruitment Office
The Rebel Recruitment Office, often shortened to RRO, was officially created by users MrAnderson555 and RePmGu2 in mid to late March, 2005, as a reactionary movement to the great emigration of older veterans to the WT board. Its greatest activity was during the summer of 2005. Its last real activity was in December of 2005, and since then it has faded into nearly complete obscurity. = History = Creation and Initial Activity The RRO began as a topic on the WT board regarding the sudden disappearance of the board veterans. It expressed messages of frustration and outcry, seeing the sudden absence of the vets as an act of betrayal to the board. It also called for an organized reform. Dissidents of a proposed ideal community, often referred to as trolls, n00bs, and flamers, were to be verbally targeted in hopes that it would lead to their departure. The leave of these dissidents, whose presence was the cause for the leave of the old vets, would usher in the return of the more revered users in this proposed final outcome. Several people, along with the original commissioners RePmGu2 and MrAnderson555, echoed this call for reform. Original participants include the users watchers_eye, KalasHawk, and GentleIdealist. This topic was quickly moderated and removed from the WT board, for its contents lacked the assigned topicality for the board. However, RePmGu2 and MrAnderson555 continued to formulate their ideas through exchanges of emails. At first, a network of email addresses was established among all participants of the infant organization. On March 23rd, 2005, a Proboards site dedicated to the organization was established, and served as headquarters where participants would be briefed of any issues on the board that required attention. This board was referred to as RROHQ. After these events, contact was made with the old veterans, and cries for their return fell on deaf ears. In addition, minimal advertisement on the WT board about the RRO's existence led to very limited existence and acknowledgment. Any reforms were far out of reach for the relatively small organization; the RRO slipped away into a quiet hiatus. Summer Activity June of 2005 brought along with it the creation of the TPSB itself, thus bringing many new users. Word of the RRO's existence and ideology resurfaced once again, and along with the sight of the chaotic TPGB, many sought to join. This second generation of RRO members included kirkinout, nintendogamer88, and sephirothsenvy, as well as many others. The number of members escalated; upon observing this new movement, RePmGu2 had referred to it as a "renaissance". Although this was an era of growth, the RRO remained stagnant. Immersed by its sudden fame in the TPSB, the TPGB received less and less attention. This period of prosperity, however, was short-lived. On June 28th, 2005, a public dispute erupted between the leaders of the RRO and KalasHawk. What resulted was a great month-long schism between many users who also happened to be in the RRO. With this conflict, it became evident to many members that the RRO was not doing its stated job. As the user ragnarok098 noted, the system "wasn't working". On the eve of July, RePmGu2 was banned from Gamefaqs; with this, he gave user TheSoundDefense the right of adminship in RRO headquarters, although by then the title had little meaning. With its members preoccupied and its leaders unwilling to return to their prescribed duties, membership into the RRO quickly devolved into a mere title with little worth. By the time autumn had rolled around, RRO headquarters was, once again, inactive and relatively forgotten. Late 2005 and Beyond In December of 2005, the RRO briefly flickered with minor activity with the ZP Scare on the TPSB. Although by then there were 50+ members, less than a dozen heeded the call to act. Even then, the entire issue proved to be empty and without direction. Without any further information, the RRO quickly settled down once again. RePmGuTheThird even slipped away into hiatus after this. In early 2006, there was speculation both in RROHQ and on AIM that the RRO would find its second wind and attempt to tame the new Zelda WT Wii board. Those who attended these meetings of speculation include ChaosFenrir, GentleIdealist, KalasHawk, and RePmGuTheThird. Some work was done, but ultimately this movement perished before realizing its goals. Legacy Although the RROHQ is dormant now, many users on the TPSB have fond memories of its existence. RePmGuTheThird and MrAnderson still wear their titles of commissioners when they appear on gamefaqs. Many other users have also kept their title with pride, including watchers_eye. Now and then, the RRO will be referenced by one of its former members. When its headquarters are linked to, someone typically joins the forums simply for the sake of joining a dead forum, typically out of parody, but sometimes out of respect. With every wave of new users, however, knowledge of the RRO gets a little more buried. = Mission Statement = Objectives The ultimate goals of the RRO are illustrated with a series of objectives. *Initially, the RRO means to attract attention to its cause, a feat that was easily achieved. *After achieving a following, a communication was to be established. With the creation of RROHQ, this was accomplished. *Upon completing all organizational needs and fulfilling the demand for manpower, the RRO would focus its attention to "purging" the boards of that which plagued them. *Once the process of cleansing was complete, the RRO would confront the veterans that had left the then-WT board in March 2005 and have them return to the boards on gamefaqs. This would both bolster numbers for the cause and add further stability to a fragile community. *Finally, to ensure that this stability would remain in the community, the administrator and creator of gamefaqs, CJayC, would be confronted and convinced that the board required more attention from level-headed moderators. Unfortunately, during most of its main lifespan, the RRO only achieved its first two objectives. Methods The RRO has preached a form of passive aggression when it comes to the "purging of Gamefaqs". In its constitution, it outlines the means it sees fit to deal with its targets: ''As you know, the Gamefaqs Zelda board has been overridden by many a problem. Trolls, flamers, and noobs are our main issue for now. Here's how each situation will be handled: ''1:When you see a topic pop up that asks a question that may be considered stupid or "noobish", never get mad and flame. If you do, then you are a troll, and we can guarantee that your status on this board and our organization won't last too long if that happens. Instead, you answer their question and leave. Answer it correctly, to the best of your ability, then don't post anything about the question anymore. ''2:Flame wars are tricky to handle. The key is NOT TO FIGHT-remain a neutral and try to understand each point of view. Then, point out each other's mistakes in the midst of their flames. If the flaming continues, then you spam the topic. Spamming the topic with short and preferably humorous topics is a way to sidetrack a flamer's attention, and cool them down. If flaming STILL continues, then you must use the last-resort option:flame back. ''3: Trolls can be close-minded and are a nuisance. To handle trolls, you must reason with them and point out their mistakes WITHOUT INSULTING THEM. Don't aggrivate them even more than they already are. If a troll starts to insult you, ignore them. If the troll persists, then you can throw them a bone-have kirby flick them off t("t) It has also made a point to avoid elitism, emphasizing the point that "the RRO is not limited to anyone". This emphasis on both non-elitism and passive aggression was to prevent any intimidation from a large, ambiguous, organized group to occur. It also produced stark contrast to many other individuals' methods to dealing with these similar problems, which often invoked further trouble. When announcing a target, a "new mission" would be posted in headquarters. All RRO members would then be e-mailed and notified of this new mission, telling them to return to HQ for a debriefing. After this, they would be left to their own accord to uphold the policies of the RRO and fulfill the mission. Typically, the missions were very specific, often warning of individual trolls, such as BASHERS33 and Carlo Aquino. =Controversy= The RRO has often come under fire. The earliest of such instances was in March, upon creation of the headquarters. The user Finalchao blasted the entire concept, deeming it "an effort in futility". Similar complaints would later echo; the idea of a completely stable, purged board was simply far too unrealistic. The commissioners would respond to these complaints with the idea that although an absolutely cleansed society could never be achieved, approaching that state to the best of their ability was still a victory. In addition, the RRO has often been notorious for boasting activity yet being inactive. Typically, individual members would attempt to uphold the policies of the RRO while the other members were preoccupied with something completely irrelevant. The commissioners themselves were often apathetic and unresponsive about issues that arose. As GentleIdealist once remarked, the RRO "failed the TPGB without even trying to save it". =Affiliations= Over time, the RRO had accumulated several friendly relationships with organizations that shared some common goals. In early July, 2005, the RRO became officially affiliated with the Anti-Noob Force, led by zeldasobsession, and the Veterans Against Trolls, Noobs, and Flamers, led by Supercow98. Both received specialized areas within RRO Headquarters. When the ZP Scare broke out in December of 2005, a special wing was created within RROHQ to deal with the threat of the ZP. This section was simply codenamed "Anti-ZP", and was often used as a refuge. Some existing RRO members, however, questioned the significance of the Anti-ZP.